Our April 14, 2008 Show
We learned quite a bit about good manners at this show!. On-line etiquette queen
Helena Echlin discussed not only the
fine distinctions between the two kinds of French kisses (the peck on both cheeks and. . . the other, more friendly kind) but the proper way to address one's phone sex clients. Color expert
Susan Hershman had her own etiquette tips: good manners are absolutely essential when convincing people to let you photograph (and make comments on!) the color palettes they used for their houses. As to
Jim Cranna -- well, maybe
good manners aren't everything. When you get a chance to hear a pro reminisce about being an improv pioneer, the last thing you want it to be is tasteful! Plus, the incredible boogie-woogie keyboard -- and singing! -- of jazz pianist
Eric Shifrin, along with our fabulous house band,
Cafe Americain.
Kurt with TSL Music Director, Ned Boynton
About the guests
JIM CRANNA
Master teacher and performer Jim Cranna has voiced over 50 award-winning commercials, and appeared in or provided voices for scores of films, videos, games, and theater productions. A legend in the San Francisco performance community, Jim was a member of the seminal improv group The Committee, as well as a founding member of the Theatre of the Deranged. He began his comedy career in the 1960's as a writer for Flip Wilson and Paul Lynde. Jim is perhaps best known for his long-running improv class, Jim Cranna's Improv Workshop, which he taught in San Francisco for more than 25 years.
HELENA ECHLIN
Writer Helena Echlin grew up in London and now lives in San Francisco. She is the author of Gone, a novel published in 2002 by Secker (Random House). Helena writes a popular on-line column about modern etiquette for Chow Magazine, Table Manners. Her writing has also been published in dozens of magazines and newspapers worldwide, including Areté magazine, the San Francisco Bay Guardian, the San Francisco Chronicle, the London Guardian, The Hudson Review, The New Statesman, San Francisco magazine, She magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Sunday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, and Yoga Journal. She earned a BA in English with first-class honors from Oxford University and an MA in English from Yale University, where she worked with author Robert Stone and was awarded the Frances Bergen Prize for her fiction.
SUSAN HERSHMAN
Oakland interior architect Susan Hershman recently published her groundbreaking book, House Colors (Gibbs Smith), a comprehensive resource for choosing exterior house colors using architectural style as a guide. Susan received her BFA in interior architecture from California College of Arts (CCA). She received an MA in Art from San Francisco State University and a BFA in Art from Moore College of Art and Design. Having worked as a designer in some of the country's award-winning design/architectural firms, she is currently the principal of her own design company, STUDIO+ONE:DESIGN, which focuses on interior design and color consultation. She resides with her husband and son in Oakland, California.
ERIC SHIFRIN
Named "Best Bay Area Piano Man of 2007" by San Francisco Magazine (calling him "one of the great saloon pianists"), Eric Shifrin brings original and classic compositions to his performance including swing, stride, boogie-woogie, New Orleans and Latin rhythms. Shifrin's musical career has spanned more than 30 years and a wide geographic/musical territory. Doubling on sax and keys keeps him in demand as a sideman, while composition and recording projects are his personal passion. He has emerged as a bandleader and entertainer using his voice instead of the sax, and has performed at literally hundreds of Bay Area clubs and concerts, both as a soloist and with his jazz trio, Eric and the In Crowd. Since the turn of the century, Eric has been the house pianist at the SF landmark Fairmont Hotel, where he currently plays four nights a week (including Saturday nights with the trio). His 2004 CD, As Time Goes By, has been described as a "true luxury" by the SF Examiner . His two CDs with the trio have just been re-released as The Souvenir Edition.
